The Best Strat Bridge Pickup Ever!!....

[Messiah]

If you saw the pickguard thread you'll know where I'm up to...

I'm after suggestions for a Strat bridge pickup.
It's got to be single coil.

At the moment I'm thinking 'Fender Texas Special'... any takers?

FWIW, I like the bridge pickup to go rather than which the stock one did...

Is there a pickup that can make a Strat sound like a razor edged Tele?

[Igotsoul4u]

Texas special is nice, but fairly noisy. I hate it for recording. I always put a seymore duncan hot rail in my strat at the bridge. So nice and warm and above all quiet.

[Jeff16years]

i'm not a big strat guy but a friend that is says that the Rio Grande Vintage Tallboy
is the sh!t

[not_so_new]

All depends on what you are looking for but me, I like to do what I do with my audio gear. That is I like to go with smaller boutique shops. I tend to find the smaller places care a bit more and produce a better product. I was looking around for something new and I was suprised at how many places there are out there making pickups now days.

I just picked up a Fralin STEEL POLED (43) but my Strat is still out getting frets so I have not heard it yet.

I have also heard great things about Bill Lawrence pickups as well. I was looking around for something new and I was suprised at how many places there are out there making pickups now days. Actually there are a ton of cool pickup makers without having to resort to the same old Duncan's or Fender's. Not that there is anything wrong with either but both are the same flavors, I like trying new things.

You should take a minute (or 60) and check out some of the site listed here lots of good info for ya

[retropete]

I LOVE Fralins

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by retropete

I LOVE Fralins

thumbsup

Cool, I can't wait!!!!

[Ruudman]

Thumbs up for Fender Custom Shop '54


ruudman

[Rodney Gene]

Originally Posted by not_so_new

All depends on what you are looking for but me, I like to do what I do with my audio gear. That is I like to go with smaller boutique shops. I tend to find the smaller places care a bit more and produce a better product.

I have also heard great things about Bill Lawrence pickups as well. I was looking around for something new and I was suprised at how many places there are out there making pickups now days. Actually there are a ton of cool pickup makers without having to resort to the same old Duncan's or Fender's. Not that there is anything wrong with either but both are the same flavors, I like trying new things.

Fender is plain jane vanilla bean... about as generic as they come IME.

Duncan is anything you want it to be.
Although Duncans are well known...they are as boutique as you can get. The company is a people / player company.

The reason I worry about the smaller companies is because they actually don't have the same level of QC and systems in place to create the kind of consistency I want in a pickup.

The 'design' of a pickup is simple...offering up the table for alot of people to ante up...but it is the devotion to the subtlties that make it all happen....

Either way I personally would avoid Fender....but that is only me. For those of you who enjoy them...more power to you!!

Respect,

[nathanvacha]

Well... razor edged like a tele? How 'bout a telecaster pickup?

[dasbin]

Seymour Duncan APS-1 is pretty much one of the best, if not the best and sweetest sounding strat pup ever.
On the other hand it fares better in the neck position.

Personally I kinda like a humbucker in the bridge to give more tonal variety.

[Ruudman]

Originally Posted by Rodney Gene

Fender is plain jane vanilla bean...

That's a mighty big comb you've got there, mister.

A summary of 60+ years of Fender, both standards and CS?






ruudman

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by Rodney Gene

Fender is plain jane vanilla bean... about as generic as they come IME.

Duncan is anything you want it to be.
Although Duncans are well known...they are as boutique as you can get. The company is a people / player company.

The reason I worry about the smaller companies is because they actually don't have the same level of QC and systems in place to create the kind of consistency I want in a pickup.

The 'design' of a pickup is simple...offering up the table for alot of people to ante up...but it is the devotion to the subtlties that make it all happen....

Either way I personally would avoid Fender....but that is only me. For those of you who enjoy them...more power to you!!

Respect,

Good points Rodney, I agree.

I will say that the Texas Specials from Fender, at least the ones I have from the late 80's or early 90's are pretty cool but for the most part I stay away from Fender pickups as well.

The Duncans are always cool but just a little... I don't know... safe maybe. Some of the other stuff out there has been really interesting to me as of late.

It's all good, we are on the same page.

[Rodney Gene]

Originally Posted by Ruudman

That's a mighty big comb you've got there, mister.

A summary of 60+ years of Fender, both standards and CS?






ruudman

Hey brother ruudman..
My statement assumes we are not even suggesting actual 'vintage' pickups...

I know precisely where the inspiration for authentic Stratacaster and Telecaster tone comes from...

As for the rest...it is just my opinion from working in the guitar pickup industry for years. I have extensive experience with a multitude of pickups and players and It is just my opinion...like I said...If you like the Fender 54 re-issue pickup...more power to you!!

I have other choices for myself...!!

Respect,

[Ruudman]

If you like the Fender 54 re-issue pickup...more power to you!!

Thanks. I like feeling powerful.

Respect back to you, brother Gene



ruudman

[Rodney Gene]

One last thing...

My favorite electric guitar right now..(My Washburn) has the stock chinese pickups which are more than likely a cheap Alnico 5 bar stuck under a few steel rods.
The ultimate in cheap pickup design!!

I have wanted to swap them out for a pair of something or other...but? I really do dig the tone.

So...Sometimes you just never know when it's gonna work or just how important the other factors are...wood, bridge type, neck type etc...

[Rodney Gene]

Originally Posted by Ruudman

Thanks. I like feeling powerful.

Respect back to you, brother Gene



ruudman

Forgive me...I am just being a pickup snob elitist pig.
Ain't nothin wrong with Fenders!!

Truthfully...I will use anything that sounds good and there are indeed alot of excellent small builders out there today.

In reality, alot of people love and care about great guitar tone...WAY more than me!!

Respect,

[Messiah]

Originally Posted by dasbin

Seymour Duncan APS-1 is pretty much one of the best, if not the best and sweetest sounding strat pup ever.
On the other hand it fares better in the neck position.

Personally I kinda like a humbucker in the bridge to give more tonal variety.

Please try to keep it to only the stuff I want to hear.

[Messiah]

SCROLL DOWN ABOUT HALF WAY

[dasbin]

Originally Posted by Messiah

Please try to keep it to only the stuff I want to hear.

Sounds to me like you've already made up your mind and aren't really asking for opinions then.
Like I said, the APS-1 sounds fantastic... but you don't want to hear that?
It DOES have a somewhat Tele sound to the high-end, but better.

Also, like the other guy said, if you just want it to sound like a Tele in bridge, then put in a freakin' Tele pup! Seems pretty obvious to me.

[Messiah]

you've misunderstood me bro...

Click the link in my last post...

I was only referring to the fact that I am in search of a single coil to replace the humbucker that is in the bridge at present... and you suggested a humbucker...

All good info.

[dasbin]

Not suggesting, just saying that I prefer a HB because I think single coils are useless in the bridge which never gets a very useful tone on it's own anyway. Just my opinion. Anyway, all's fair.

[Messiah]

...which is the reason why I put the humbucker in the bridge in the first place, that and for the versatility. It meant I didn't need to change guitars live so much.

I don't agree that a single in the bridge is useless though...

I have plenty of guitars with humbuckers in the bridge, that's why I want my Strat back to being a Strat.

[Rodney Gene]

Originally Posted by dasbin

Not suggesting, just saying that I prefer a HB because I think single coils are useless in the bridge which never gets a very useful tone on it's own anyway. Just my opinion. Anyway, all's fair.

There are plenty of truly great tone machine making single coil bridge pickups...but the reason you would want a single coil in the bridge of a Strat is not for the single coil alone, but for the for the Bridge/Middle combo. The classic Strat 'quack' is a result of the bridge and middle pickup (single coils) together...This is not possible with a humbucker / single coil combo...even with the humbucker split.

Strats are cool...
Teles are cool...
Les Pauls, Jrs, 335's, etc. etc...they all have cool things to offer.

Although..IME...most of the tone comes from the player anyway...!

Cheers!

[Messiah]

Originally Posted by Rodney Gene

There are plenty of truly great tone machine making single coil bridge pickups...but the reason you would want a single coil in the bridge of a Strat is not for the single coil alone, but for the for the Bridge/Middle combo. The classic Strat 'quack' is a result of the bridge and middle pickup (single coils) together...This is not possible with a humbucker / single coil combo...even with the humbucker split.

Ahhh, this just makes me think 'John Fogerty'... my favourite exponent of 'position 2'...

[Yutaka]

I have a set of Van Zandt vintage plus on my Fender Japan '54 strat. To me, these sound better than Seymour Duncan APS-1 I used to have - more 3D, responds to my playing better. I really love these.

That said, I prefer my Tele (also Van Zandt, flat pole set) for rock stuff. I have been thinking to maybe add a base plate to see if I can get the bridge pickup on my strat to rock a little more without changing the sound too much. Has anyone tried this?

[Saucyjack]

Fralins are great.
Check out Lollars as well.
Both excellent pickups...don't know about the razor edged Tele sound though.Maybe just get a Strat and a Tele?

[kevinc]

I could use one myself.

I`ve got a JB jr in there now and it`s OK but very trebly. Strat bridge pickups generally are but it`s a bit much sometimes.

I`ve got a Dimarzio and Duncan in the neck and middle postion now and they both sound amazing. Especially blended.

[Tim L]

The Harmonic Design stuff I think is very cool. I dropped one of their Z-90's in the neck of my LP Classic and love the thing!

I'm thinking about trying the 'Vintage Plus' in my G&L Legacy.

I don't know if the HD's will get you "razor edge tele" but they're worth looking into...

There's a few different models here for strats;

http://harmonicdesign.net/allpages/strats.html

[84K]

Suhr V60 LPs

[Tim L]

spoke to soon on the 'tele' thing... check out the 'STP'...

http://harmonicdesign.net/allpages/custom_shop.html